Auburn @ Wisconsin preview

OUTBACK BOWL GAME STORYLINES

1. Both teams will be looking to end the campaign on a positive note after some rough weeks as Wisconsin meets Auburn at the Outback Bowl in Tampa. No. 17 Wisconsin won seven straight contests before being routed by Ohio State 59-0 in the Big Ten Championship Game and athletic director Barry Alvarez will coach the Badgers after Gary Andersen bolted for Oregon State. The 19th-ranked Tigers lost three of their last four regular-season contests, capped by a 55-44 decision against No. 1 Alabama on Nov. 29.

2. Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon will play his final college game after putting together one of the best seasons in NCAA history. The junior, who announced he would make himself available in the NFL Draft, has rushed for 2,336 yards and 26 touchdowns – both tops in the nation – and caught three scoring passes. Gordon ran for at least 140 yards in nine of his 13 contests this season and will face an Auburn defense that has allowed 149.5 total rushing yards per game – 46th in the nation.

3. The Tigers scored at least 38 points seven times this season and will test a reeling Wisconsin defense with a balanced attack. Quarterback Nick Marshall threw for 2,315 yards and 18 scores while rushing for 780 and 11 touchdowns to lead an offense that stands 17th in the nation with 489.2 yards per contest. Auburn had a 1,000-yard rusher for the sixth straight season in Cameron Artis-Payne (1,482) and Sammie Coates is third in the country in yards per reception at 23.9 on 30 catches.

TV: Noon ET, ESPN2. LINE: Auburn –6.5

ABOUT AUBURN (8-4, 4-4 SEC): Marshall needs 37 yards to pass Phil Gargis as the all-time rushing leader among Tigers quarterbacks and is coming off a school-record 456-yard passing effort against Alabama. Coates, who has also announced he is turning pro after the season, joins D’haquille Williams (45 receptions, 730 yards, five touchdowns) to provide a potent receiving duo for Marshall. Auburn is tied for sixth in the nation with 19 interceptions, led by Jonathan Jones (six) and Jermaine Whitehead (four), and has given up 26.1 points per game.

ABOUT WISCONSIN (10-3, 7-1 Big Ten): Alvarez, who named Paul Chryst to be the next coach Dec. 17, won 118 games in 16 seasons at the helm of the Badgers before stepping aside after the 2005 campaign to become the AD. Gordon is 13 yards from passing Anthony Davis (4,676) for third on Wisconsin’s all-time rushing list and he will likely get handed the ball by both Joel Stave (eight touchdowns, seven interceptions) and Tanner McEvoy (574 rushing yards). The Badgers have recorded 36 sacks, led by linebacker Derek Landisch’s nine.

PREDICTION: Auburn 35, Wisconsin 27